We examined the intra-individual variation in resting frequency of the constant-frequency component of the second harmonic of the pulse (F (rest)) over 4 years in a laboratory colony of the Taiwanese leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros terasensis). Patterns of change in F (rest) were observed when individuals were added to or removed from the colony so that we investigated whether F (rest) was affected by neighboring colony members. F (rest) of each bat continually showed a long-term gradual change throughout the year, and all bats in the colony increased or decreased their F (rest) in the same direction as a group non-seasonally. The greatest short-term changes were observed when new bats with a relatively low F (rest) joined the colony and F (rest) of new bats converged with those of the original colony members around 8 -16 days after their introduction. Conversely, a single individual showed sudden short-term decrease in F (rest) after its isolation from other colony members. These findings strongly indicate that F (rest) is flexible according to the presence of neighboring conspecific bats. We suggest that the audio-vocal feedback for conspecific pulses appears to be involved in the short- or long-term intra-individual variation in F (rest) other than factors previously thought such as age or season.

Biosonar behavior was examined in Taiwanese leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros terasensis; CF-FM bats) during flight. Echolocation sounds were recorded using a telemetry microphone mounted on the bat's head. Flight speed and three-dimensional trajectory of the bat were reconstructed from images taken with a dual high-speed video camera system. Bats were observed to change the intensity and emission rate of pulses depending on the distance from the landing site. Frequencies of the dominant second harmonic constant frequency component (CF2) of calls estimated from the bats' flight speed agreed strongly with observed values. Taiwanese leaf-nosed bats changed CF2 frequencies depending on flight speed, which caused the CF2 frequencies of the Doppler-shifted echoes to remain constant. Pulse frequencies were also estimated using echoes returning directly ahead of the bat and from its sides for two different flight conditions: landing and U-turn. Bats in flight may periodically alter their attended angles from the front to the side when emitting echolocation pulses.

No abstract